National Film Board forays into book publishing

TORONTO — The National Film Board of Canada is translating its works from the screen to the printed page with a new literary venture.

Firefly Books will be the official book publisher of the NFB.

The new partnership will see a series of literary adaptations of celebrated NFB animated and documentary films and media projects.

The inaugural program will launch this fall with the publication of a pair of children’s books adapted from Oscar-nominated films: “The Cat Came Back” by Cordell Barker and “My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts” by Torill Kove.

It will also include the publication of “George Hunter’s Canada: Iconic Images from Canada’s Most Prolific Photographer,” an adaptation from the photo essay “Legacies 150 — George Hunter” featuring the work of the late pioneering photojournalist.

In its 78-year history, the NFB had produced more than 13,000 animated films, documentaries, fiction features and interactive productions, which have won more than 5,000 awards, including 12 Oscars.